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Negotiation and Compromise
Timebomb follows Rick Fernscale into the crosshairs of a ruthless globalist organization behind a new apocalyptic scheme. What draws you to the military thriller genre?
I have always wanted to write books ever since I was 17 years old. And I always knew that one day I would write thrillers, as that is a genre I am most interested in. I have now written five of them plus eleven non-fiction books. Since primary school, I’ve always been fascinated by the military, and I have read thrillers written by the likes of Tom Clancy, Andy McNab and Chris Ryan. Frederick Forsyth’s books have also been a great source of inspiration. They all depict a world in which problems can be solved by military action without any negative consequences. Of course, in the real world, that never happens, but fictional books often depict a society in which there are no negative consequences to a hero’s actions. Other influences on my Rick Fernscale books have been the 1982 Lewis Collins film Who Dares Win (known in the USA as The Final Option) and the British SAS TV series Ultimate Force from the mid 2000s. The hugely popular American TV series 24 was also an influence, and I have watched every episode on the box set three times. The hero of that series, Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland, has some similarities with Rick Fernscale, as he is ex-special forces, does not suffer fools gladly, and believes he can solve most problems with his fists and his gun, just like Rick.
Is there a part of Rick’s personality that reflects your own experiences or outlook?
I think there is some truth in this assertion. Like myself Rick doesn’t suffer fools gladly and often sees a simple solution to every problem which involves instant action. Like myself, he enjoys Chinese and Indian food and his favourite leisure pastime is cycling but apart from that we are different in personality. Rick is very physical unlike me and believes that a lot of the world’s problems can be solved with high explosive. I am a bit more cerebral than that and believe that negotiation and compromise is often better than military action which often has undesired consequences, particularly for the civilian population.
Do you choreograph major action scenes before writing them, or do they evolve on the page?
They just seem to happen in my mind, and I write them down. My own writing technique is that I picture the scenes inside my mind’s eye as though I were watching a film, and then I describe what I’m seeing. I don’t know much about unarmed combat, so devise moves that seem plausible. I do know a bit about guns, though, as I was once a member of a rifle club.
Do you see more missions ahead for Rick Fernscale?
My original intention was just to write three books featuring the character. But it is always possible that Rick will return at some time in the future. As long as there are bad guys in the world, we’re going to need people like Rick who can take them out quickly and efficiently.
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Rick Fernscale, former SAS Sergeant, has already faced the unthinkable and won. The Chameleons, a ruthless global organisation driven by power and control, were supposed to be finished.
But evil doesn’t disappear. It adapts.
Now they have returned with a plan more terrifying than anything before. Project Lucifer, a covert operation designed to reshape the world through fear, chaos and destruction.
As the countdown begins, Fernscale is pulled back into a deadly game where the stakes are nothing less than the future of humanity. Outnumbered, outgunned and racing against time, he must uncover the truth before it’s too late.
From covert operations and high-stakes espionage to explosive combat and relentless suspense, Timebomb is a gripping techno-thriller packed with action, intrigue and heart-pounding twists.
When the clock hits zero… there’s no going back.
Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Andy McNab, this is a must-read for lovers of military thrillers and high-tech conspiracy fiction.
Timebomb
TIMEBOMB is a high-velocity military thriller that brings former SAS soldier Rick Fernscale back into the crosshairs of The Chameleons, a ruthless globalist organisation with a new apocalyptic scheme called Project Lucifer. After SAS Trooper Ronnie Anderson is kidnapped and used as bait, Rick is pulled from his hidden life into a chain of hijackings, assassinations, undercover missions, political upheaval, and a final island confrontation where the fate of millions hangs by a very literal countdown. The novel moves with the blunt urgency of a field report, never lingering long before the next ambush, explosion, betrayal, or tactical improvisation arrives.
What I found most striking was the book’s appetite for momentum. Barron writes action as if he is assembling machinery under pressure: guns, aircraft, vehicles, medical procedures, military acronyms, and emergency responses all have weight and texture. There is a fondness here for technical specificity, and while the details can occasionally crowd the page, they also give the novel its particular flavor. I felt the story worked best when Rick was forced to think under impossible conditions, whether in freefall, undercover, or cornered by enemies who have underestimated him.
I also found the book’s political edge impossible to ignore. TIMEBOMB isn’t a neutral thriller; it’s openly argumentative, sometimes polemical, and very much interested in climate policy, state power, media control, and distrust of elite institutions. Some readers will find that bracing. For me, the strongest moments came when the ideological scaffolding gave way to personal stakes: Rick’s loyalty to Maria, the camaraderie among soldiers, and the grim knowledge that survival often depends on nerve, timing, and a willingness to do ugly things quickly.
I would recommend TIMEBOMB to readers who enjoy military thrillers, political conspiracy, action novels, techno-thrillers, and adventure stories. It will especially appeal to readers who like their fiction combative and loaded with hardware, strategy, and geopolitical suspicion. Fans of Tom Clancy may recognize the same taste for operational detail and large-scale threat, though Barron’s voice is more pugnacious and less bureaucratic. TIMEBOMB is a hard-charging thriller with a fuse short enough to make every chapter exciting.
Pages: 173 | ASIN : B0GX31229Z
Where Shadows Dwell
Where Shadows Dwell follows Lisa Parks, a pregnant Demon Hunter, and her pastor husband Jason as they are pulled from church life and marital tenderness into a global spiritual crisis: an ancient medallion points toward the Abyss, demons are gathering, and the Dead Sea becomes the hinge on which apocalypse may turn. What begins with campground humor, church friendships, and Jason’s private gambling spiral expands into a faith-charged supernatural thriller of angelic warfare, political tension, and desperate sacrifice.
I was most drawn to the book’s mixture of domestic warmth and cosmic danger. Lisa and Jason feel most alive when the story lets them be funny, scared, affectionate, and flawed in the same breath. The pregnancy thread gives Lisa’s mission a tender pressure; she is not just fighting evil in the abstract, she is carrying a future while trying to keep the present from cracking open. Jason’s gambling subplot adds a quieter shadow, one that works because it is human-sized beside the more operatic threat of demons and the Abyss.
The novel has a pulpy and intense momentum that I found appealing. It’s not shy about angels, scripture, miracles, or spiritual hierarchy, and that confidence gives the story its particular voltage. The cast is large, and the action can feel crowded, but the book’s sincerity keeps pulling the narrative forward. I especially liked how the final stretch turns an apocalyptic battle into something oddly tactile: salt, bulldozers, military convoys, and exhausted believers trying to save the world with whatever tools are in reach.
This book is best suited for readers of supernatural thrillers, faith-based apocalyptic fiction, spiritual warfare fantasy, and biblical adventure suspense. Readers who enjoy the high-stakes religious conspiracy and end-times urgency of Frank Peretti or the Left Behind series will recognize the territory, though this story leans more into demon-hunting adventure and team-driven supernatural action. Where Shadows Dwell is a fervent and fast-moving novel that is highly entertaining.
Pages: 486
Incredible Loss
Harpazo follows a cast of characters, all of whom are grappling with losing loved ones to sudden and unexplained disappearances. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Harpazo, along with the other two books in the Trib Trilogy, are inspired by events described in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.
The sudden disappearance of a quarter of the world’s population that takes place at the beginning of Harpazo is inspired by the Rapture. The Rapture is not found in the Book of Revelation, but passages describing the Rapture—a sudden, future gathering up of the godly—are sprinkled throughout the Bible.
Wondering what it would be like to be left behind after the Rapture takes place, I wanted to explore as many permutations of this as possible. So, I tried to give several points of view, but all from average, hard-working, well-meaning people.
The loss of one-quarter of the world’s population causes severe consequences that each of my characters must find a way to come to terms with. I wanted to explore several ways an average person could respond to the incredible loss felt by all.
What draws you to write books in the apocalyptic fiction genre?
Every interesting story contains a problem that the characters must solve or find a way to live with. Apocalyptic fiction takes that to a much higher level. The problem is bigger, usually worldwide, but the principle is the same as for every story.
I think the danger with most apocalyptic fiction is that it gets lost in the grandiose nature of its story problems. Huge events tend to dwarf the characters and their responses to the events taking place.
I’ve always wondered what the consequences would be if the worst scenario happened. What would happen after the unthinkable? And what could be more unthinkable than one-quarter of the world population (including all the children) suddenly disappearing?
But I wanted to showcase this earth-shattering event—and the consequences that ensue—through the eyes of ordinary people. I wanted to present the changes that can occur due to the catastrophe on an individual level…the good, the bad, and the ugly. For that, I needed to approach the story from several perspectives.
What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?
This is a really difficult question to answer as there are so many life experiences that I could point to that I believe shaped my perspective. But if I had to narrow it down to one thing, I would have to say that becoming an active Christian has had the greatest impact on my writing…as it has for my whole life.
Can you give us a peek inside the second book in the Trib trilogy? Where will it take readers?
Sure, here is the synopsis for Charagma, Book Two of the Trib Trilogy:
The meteor showers that destroyed two major cities on the eastern seaboard of North America—and heavily damaged all others—have continued unabated for weeks. Not confined to North America, the meteors have rained down death worldwide, igniting old-growth forests in an inferno of epic proportions.
Now, at the beginning of the second year of the Tribulation, a much bigger meteor plummets into the Pacific Ocean…and plunges the world into the next series of cataclysmic events. Not least is the sudden, silent change in the world’s freshwater supply from potability to deadly poison.
Meanwhile, in geopolitics, a new hope dawns.
A leader, the likes of whom the world has never seen before, emerges out of obscurity to take command. The world’s population, desperate for solutions, clings to the new leader’s promise of renewed peace and prosperity.
While most of the world’s citizens believe in the new leader’s rhetoric some do not. Even after the new leader miraculously resurrects after being assassinated!
Only a few know who the new leader really is and how dangerous he is to everyone, everywhere, all over the world.
Through the eyes of ordinary people, Charagma tells the story of the middle years of the Tribulation—a time of growing political pressure to conform to the all-powerful forces shaping the world.
Each person is faced with a choice: Conform to the new leader’s demand for complete, unwavering loyalty to his one-world government, ensuring their short-term survival. Or decline to participate in his worldwide program, ensuring total exclusion from society and the world’s wrath.
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Harpazo: Book One of the Trib Trilogy
Harpazo begins with an explosive premise. It’s the first book in The Trib Trilogy, centering on sudden, unexplained disappearances across various characters’ lives. The story weaves through multiple perspectives, such as Tyler, a young tow-truck apprentice; Georgia, a second-grade teacher; and Bryn, a coffee shop barista. Each chapter introduces someone grappling with the surreal aftermath of loved ones and strangers vanishing into thin air, often leaving behind little but their clothes. Anchored in biblical themes, the narrative reflects on chaos, faith, and the human response to unimaginable events.
I couldn’t put the book down once I started. The opening scene, where Tyler realizes his mentor has vanished mid-drive, immediately sets a gripping tone. The author, Nathalie Bujold Ryan, paints an eerie picture with vivid descriptions—Joe’s empty work boots on the pedals, his clothes eerily intact. The pacing is tight, and the scene transitions are snappy, though I found some moments, like Tyler’s prolonged reaction to the empty truck, slightly drawn out. That said, this added a layer of realism to the shock and confusion Tyler felt, which many readers might appreciate.
One of my favorite aspects of the book is the diversity of perspectives. Georgia’s reaction in the empty classroom resonated with me. The sheer horror of seeing abandoned clothes in a once-bustling space amplified the surreal tone. However, her disbelief and anger at first made her feel human. Ryan captures the disbelief people feel in extraordinary situations beautifully. On the other hand, I felt some characters, like Bryn, could have been explored in greater depth.
Thematically, Harpazo thrives in its exploration of existential dread and religious undertones. The darkness rolling over the city, described in Peter’s chapter, mirrors the emotional turmoil many characters feel. While the book leans on its Christian foundation, particularly referencing the rapture, it doesn’t alienate readers unfamiliar with or outside that context. Instead, it’s an invitation to reflect on universal themes—fear of the unknown, the fragility of human life, and the power of faith.
Harpazo is a haunting and thought-provoking read that blends suspense, drama, and a dash of the divine. While some pacing and character development issues arise, they don’t overshadow the compelling narrative. This book is perfect for fans of apocalyptic fiction with a spiritual twist or anyone curious about how humanity might respond to the unimaginable. If you’re ready for a wild ride packed with mystery and meaning, Harpazo delivers.
Pages: 397 | ASIN: B0DSLFFZ8J
